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The three top stories. Here are the great stories submitted by you for the contest. It was very hard to make the distinction on who had the best story. We agonized for a long time to decide and settled on a vote from all here in the office. These are the ones who got the most votes and in the order posted. This by no means is a judgment by all and some might have come to a different conclusion. The amount of participation was overwhelming and very much appreciated. If I could I would post them all her, but space will not allow me. Again congratulations to you all and a BIG thank you!! Here is the Number 1 story. It was not too long ago my husband and I went on a road trip from New Jersey to Southern California. We mapped out a trip to visit some friends in Huntington Beach and travel the coast North up to Santa Ynez and back down South to Santa Barbara. We are both in the wine business and thought it would be great to try wines from a different area. While planning the trip I stumbled upon a small town named Solvang. On the internet, it looked like another country, so I thought we had to try it. I was a little scared, but figured it was only for two nights. We arrived around 5:00 on a Monday. By the time we checked in and went for a walk to check out the town, everything was closed. The next day we started out early for a tour of Bridlewood - one of our favorites! By the time we got back we had just enough time to catch a few tasting rooms before they closed and to have dinner before collapsing. The next day we decided before leaving town we would have to get a real taste for the history, culture, and charm of Solvang. We spent hours going from store to store. We finally ended up sitting down in one of the restaurants and not really understanding what they were, we ordered one order of Aebleskivers. This did not last very long! We loved them. We had to have another order!
To make a long story short, the time we spent in Solvang was the most
memorable and enjoyable. We came back telling our families all about
it. But no one could really grasp the Aebleskiver. From late
September to December we talked about them. Being married only less
than two years, we have a lot of great memories from two trips, our
honeymoon and our trip to California. I wanted to make sure that we
always remembered the Aebleskivers. For Christmas, I ordered the
deluxe pan, the four pound bag of mix and the 2 big jams. I was so
excited to give it to my husband and share with our families on
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
What I did not realize was that my husband also wanted to keep our
Aebleskiver memory alive. On Christmas Eve, he gave me the
Original Aebleskiver pan, a one pound bag of mix and 1 big jam. I had
to laugh as I opened it and tried to not to let on that he would soon
be opening a very similar gift.
In the end, I had to explain to him that since we were married, he
could make the long term investment in buying the larger bag of mix
and jam! And finally we were able to share the Aebleskivers with
friends and family. We took at least one of our pans and the
ingredients to each parents house over the weekend. They all enjoyed
watching me flip each one with a toothpick. My dad decided to come up
with a new trick. Instead of sprinkling with powdered sugar, he chose
to roll his. My husbands Grandmother opened each one up and put the
jam inside. We enjoyed everyone! I think I ate at least two dozen in
two days!
Thanks for the memories!
I am so excited to be the winner!
Of course you can use my story on the site.
Sue And here is the number two story!
What have I done with my aebleskiver pan?!?!?!? For the past two
Decembers, I have served aebleskivers to my piano students at my
"Students Only" Piano Recital. Besides sharing Christmas music with
each other, we play Merry Christmas Jingo and EAT. At the 2005
Recital, I had 25 students and I doubled my recipe...it left many
students wanting MORE and MORE. They absolutely loved the treat. So,
even with 38 students this past Christmas, I decided to serve
aebleskivers again. I also served yogurt parfaits and a breakfast
casserole thinking that would help fill their tummies. I started the
Saturday morning off at 6 a.m. I not only set up tables for 38, threw
the casseroles in the oven and prepared the parfaits, I tripled my
aebleskiver recipe. As I was mixing the dough, something started to
smell funny. You guessed it...my hand mixer couldn't handle the huge
batch of dough and it literally burned up. So, my Bosch mixer came to
the rescue. However, since I was behind in time, I ended up making
aebleskivers while my students performed for each other in the living
room. I would laugh and clap after each piece was played...all the
while carefully tending to the zillions of aebleskivers! My students
played beautifully and hurried back into the kitchen to place their
dibs on the golden treats. I recently received my second pan in the
mail from you --- I am prepared for December 2007!
Kim And the number
three and last one. Dear Arne, Sure want to share our story about aebleskivers....again, and again....I've managed to wipe out the first, and loose the second email. So here goes. My husbands grandfather came straight from Denmark and with him came
the tradition of cooking & baking. My father-in-law, his son, became a
baker by trade and I enjoyed watching him take great pride in cooking
and serving aebleskivers to his family of 5 over the years. His
technique was always the same...true to his profession as a baker, he
sifted his flour...added whole eggs...and, when the dough was half
cooked, turned them with a fork. This was his Event, and it wasn't
until he passed away that his son took over the tradition....sort of.
Suddenly a self appointed expert, my husband Max decided there was no
need to sift the flour, the batter did better with separated yokes and
whipped whites, AND the cakes were 'less disturbed' when a knitting
needle was used to turn them.... (my husband's job is operating heavy
equipment, and I think he helped his mom cook donuts as a child). Here in lies the dilemma: We have 4 aebleskivers pans - 2 with nine holes, and 2 with seven holes. My husband insists on using only the 2 seven holers, because, "the knitting needle doesn't fit under the microwave" (that hangs above the stove). If I do the math right: 7 holes x 2 = 14 'skivers'...mixing takes about 15 minutes, cooking about 7 minutes, and eating 2-3 seconds....sooo we often have 14 people at a time waiting patiently for their time to eat. For the past several years, I have begun to gingerly add some breakfast items to the menu (boiled eggs and egg casserole). My dear husband gets quite put off by this as this is "his meal" ...yet his extended family smiles and nibbles on fruit and other forbidden fruit (eggs), and continue to socialize and wait. Max's usual response is "I guarantee you, I will catch up with you and be ahead of what you can eat" (referring to his, our, beloved aebleskivers)...as so he often does. The day must be a hit because they always come back for more year after year. We have three grown daughters ourselves, and each has their own pan, thanks to you guys, and each celebrate Christmas by cooking their own aebleskivers. It is a wonderful tradition, and one I am thrilled to be a part of. Thanks for this opportunity to share the craziness of our tradition with you. God keep and bless your new year! Sincerely, Rita We sincerely thank you all for participating and hope to keep in touch for many years to come. Let us hear from you all from time to time and we will continue to have some little contests or participation games coming. Sincerely, Arne Hansen Back to home
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